I am a UKRI Future Leaders Fellow, a Senior Lecturer in Sociology, and more broadly a social demographer with interests in the causes and consequences of social inequities. I utilise mixed-methods approaches in my research, including statistical modeling using large-scale survey datasets and collection and analysis of primary interview data. I also undertake phenomenological research, which aims to apply theoretical perspectives on inequities to evidence on observed phenomena.

My role on the project

I am Co-Investigator on the DigiAge project and am the Lead on the Social Justice Lens. This lens looks at the highly stratified way that knowledge, skills and resources are accumulated across the lifecourse, and how this cumulative dis/advantage may impact on older adults’ ability and desire to take up technologies later in life. I will focus on identifying how we can understand and evidence the ways that marginalisation across the lifecourse might matter for whether and how older adults engage with digital technologies, and how this matters for well-being over time. This lens looks at the co-design related activities around designing inclusive and equitable digital technologies.

Why I wanted to join the team

Digital technologies have rapidly changed the way we live our everyday lives. Although my background is not in Computing, there are clear social consequences for how digital technology is embedded in our lives. I am very interested in the ways that social inequities are being replicated and compounded by rapidly evolving digital technologies. This is essential not only for  understanding why and how different groups are more or less dis/advantaged in their access to and engagement with technology, but also how inequalities can be reduced and harm minimised going forward.